


'The Adventures of Bel Thorne, as told by itself'

by Gwynne



Category: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-03
Updated: 2011-03-03
Packaged: 2017-10-16 02:01:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/167216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gwynne/pseuds/Gwynne





	'The Adventures of Bel Thorne, as told by itself'

'The Adventures of Bel Thorne, as told by itself'  
Bel Thorne stared glumly at the comconsole screen. If it had known about this, it might have reconsidered that urge to procreate.

They warned you about the sleepless nights, the noxious substances, the constant worry and the lack of privacy for, apparently, the rest of your life. All that was just part of the joys of parenthood.

But nobody had warned it about this. It stared at the blank screen and hoped that some words would magically appear.

They didn’t.

Bel sighed and reached for the stylus.

There should be warnings about this. A person needed to be prepared in advance.

Damn teachers. What sort of teacher thought of such an evil idea? What kind of school allowed this intrusion into the sanctity of the home?

Nicol was in the bedroom, doing all those little routine things she did before bed. Bel could be doing them with her, and more. Should be. But no, it was stuck staring at this stupid blank screen.

Nicol had already done hers, of course. Her happy upbringing, her love for her sisters, her big galactic adventure, then back home to fame and a wonderful career, and love, marriage and motherhood. And a child whose teacher gives stupid homework assignments like ‘My Parents’ Lives’.

Carefully it reached out and made a start.

'The Adventures of Bel Thorne, as told by itself.'

Well, start at the beginning. Beta colony. Big, safe, organised, deadly dull Beta colony. Where everyone assumed a bright young herm would just love to be a LPST. And spend the rest of its life showing fumbling teens what goes where. Beta could make even sex seem dull. There had to be something better. At least, something less dull.

‘I was born on Beta colony. It’s a very happy and safe place. When I grew up I decided to travel the galaxy and see new things.’

And what things they were. A nice little job as cargo hand on an Escobaran freighter led to another, and another, and somehow the next job was in a mercenary fleet. Bajor’s Raiders, they were – and a pretty ramshackle fleet it was. Then they were taken over by Oser, and it spent time moving up through the ranks.

‘I worked on cargo ships, and saw many new worlds.’

And then there was Miles. Admiral Naismith. Lord Vorkosigan, now. And then, too, although most of the fleet didn’t know it at the time. Erupting like a bright comet. Or a sun going nova, and about as safe. The Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet, daring rescues our specialty. Life was suddenly much more exciting. And dangerous, but it was worth it. So many missions, combat drops, infiltrations….

‘I learned new skills and travelled to exciting places.’

But above all, there was Miles. Passionate, energetic, driven. That strange, ugly, twisted body was part of his charm, that sharp smile, those wild leaps of inspiration. So fragile and broken, but it just didn’t matter. He could tear your heart out. He could talk you into following him to the gates of Hell – and he had, several times. Through the gates too, more than once. But you just couldn’t resist that lethal charm.

Miles was the love of its life. Nicol was, too, of course, in a different way. Nicol was everything you could want in a partner, and it adored her. But Miles – that part of its life was like a glittering fire in the memory.

‘I made some interesting friends.’

The final desperate adventure, deciding to follow Mark. Deep down it knew that would be the end of serving with the Dendarii. Losing Miles was pure hell, having to resign was nothing after that. Even then Miles somehow produced the job for Impsec, and a regular income. And security from Security. Imperial Security didn’t like people wandering around loose with important information so being a galactic spy was actually the safe option.

‘I worked hard and tried new jobs. There were always more things to see.’

Then Quaddiespace, and Nicol. Safe harbour at last, at least until Miles showed up again. As usual it almost ended in disaster. And instead, they all came out of it as heroes. Typical Miles.

‘I came here to Graf Station and met Nicol again. We fell in love and were partnered.’

Now there’s a pension from Barrayar, and another from Graf Station. Plus part-time work just to keep busy. And a family, two beautiful children who could grow up to do…. Anything. If they ever get through school, and escape from stupid teachers who set ridiculous homework.

‘Now I work as a cargo master. And I’m a parent.’

Life was good. Not as exciting as it used to be, but good all the same. Except for teachers who set stupid homework.

‘I am very happy.’

And maybe, one day, Miles would come back again.


End file.
